Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Shelter from a Storm, and Storage for Your Shoes?

A room where you can store jewelry and guns, send email – and survive 250 mph tornado winds? It’s called a storm shelter or “safe room” and is a surprise popular home renovation, even amid the current laggard real estate market.

These aren’t the dank bunkers your father hid in, as we discuss in today’s WSJ story. And they aren’t cheap. Many of the new shelters are above-ground $4,000 to $15,000 prefabricated pads that can be bolted to the garage’s concrete pad, or even installed inside the home. They boast names like “StormRoom” and “Iron Eagle II” and often lead double lives of offices, tool sheds, closets and even wine cellars in less turbulent times. DuPont makes one reinforced with bullet-resistant Kevlar.

Pictures of the “Iron Eagle II,” “Safe Dome” and even an 800-pound “floating” shelter here.

About Pure Shelter

When I bought my first "shelter" -- a 1978 Deck House on two acres -- the location was great, but the structure needed serious updating when it came to energy efficiency and healthy building science. And the yard, well, the weeds had nearly moved into the house. This site is an offshoot of my reporting about the newest tools & trends in home improvement, particularly "green" building and landscaping. (There's also the occasional pet or food post - file that under "inside the shelter.") Hope the ideas help as you improve your home.

-- Gwendolyn Bounds

I'm a journalist (more about me here); information in this blog stems from independent reporting. I do not accept payment or advertising from companies mentioned on this site other than news organizations with which I'm affiliated. My views do not necessarily represent those of the media organizations I've worked for.